OddsFrontTrump offers White House press secretary job to UFC chief Dana White
Trump announced on Truth Social that he had offered Dana White the vacant White House press secretary post. CNN, citing a source, said White declined, while his own social media post left the answer ambiguous.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has offered the vacant job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the president and chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He announced the offer in a post on Truth Social, the CNBC, BBC and CBS News reported.
Trump described White as “a violent Fighter and Warrior” and said such people were needed “to defend us against the Lunatic Left”. He ended the post with a direct appeal: “Dana, please take the job!” According to CBS News, he also asked White to bring along six fighters as assistants, “even though some are not from our Country”: Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harris.
An unclear answer
Whether White has said yes is not settled. CNBC reported that CNN, citing a source, said he had turned the offer down. Yet White posted an Instagram story showing himself behind the lectern in the White House briefing room, captioned “On to the next chapter”. The BBC and CBS News both noted it was unclear whether the post was meant seriously or as a joke. The BBC added that it could not tell whether the public offer was genuine. The White House and the UFC had not immediately responded to requests for comment.
CNBC also pointed out that Trump wrote of the “Press Secretary of the United States”, while the official title is White House press secretary. The network noted that the president had recently mused in a podcast interview about the rapper Nicki Minaj as a possible spokesperson.
A post left empty
The position has been open since Oct. 16, when Katie Zacharia left five days after taking it. She had been chosen to succeed Karoline Leavitt, who stepped aside in August, saying she wanted more time with her young family, according to CBS News. Trump told reporters that he had asked Zacharia whether the job was right for her after her only briefing, in which, CNBC reported, she took questions from just three conservative outlets in about six minutes.
The offer comes amid a wider reshuffle. On Friday, Trump said deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller would become chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. That announcement followed the midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of the House and Senate.
Friendship and practical doubts
White and Trump have been close for years. White called Trump a “fighter” during the 2016 campaign and later spoke at Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024, the BBC said. This year the UFC staged a card on the South Lawn, timed to Trump’s 80th birthday. CBS News put the value of the league at more than $15 billion.
The BBC noted that the job is among the most gruelling in politics and that White’s schedule is already full. He leads the UFC and Power Slap, has just launched Zuffa Boxing and sits on the board of Meta. The BBC also recalled that he has often clashed with journalists covering his sport.
On Polymarket, traders put the chance that White becomes the next White House press secretary at 6%.
Neither White nor the White House had confirmed the outcome at the time the outlets published. CBS News described the story as developing.